Crawling Creepies
by No1fan15
Summary: Reigen doesn't like bugs. Nor is he fond of evil spirits. Today really isn't going well for him. ( Serizawa is in this but he doesn't have a tag yet )


If someone had walked into the Spirits and Such consultation office that day they may have wondered why the Greatest psychic of the 21st century was standing on top of a chair holding a can of bug spray in a shaky hand and a bag of salt in the other.

He, of course, would have said he was exorcising an infestation of evil spirits. He technically wasn't lying. There was indeed a ghostly presence in the office and he was truly attempting to rid the room of it. He would have left out the part about it being a single spirit so weak he could barely see it. The part about it being a cockroach would have likely been excluded as well.

Regardless of hypothetical bullshit told to clients he was in this situation weather he wanted to or not. Thus Reigen continued to scan the room for any kind of disturbance while fervently hoping insecticide worked on ghosts. It probably didn't. He really hoped he wouldn't have to find out. After maybe thirty minutes of unsteady vigilance Reigen considered that the spirit may have left. He had no way to be sure but staying on his chair wasn't going to get his paperwork done. He tentatively lifted one of his feet a few inches off the seemingly safe plastic surface.

"Get it together, Arataka. It's just one measly insect." he mumbled in a half hearted attempt to psych himself up. With this self encouragement in mind he slowly stepped onto the tiles. Nothing happened. He relaxed his posture slightly and a second foot joined the first. Still nothing. With a small nervous chuckle he walked over to his desk. Maybe he'd been scared for nothing. The longer things went without incident the more he was convinced of his victory. He may not have done anything but not having to fight was still a win in his mind.

By the end of the morning he was confident everything was back to normal. The sound of the door opening caught his attention.

"Good morning, boss. Thanks for letting me come in late today."

"Morning, Serizawa. Don't mention it. You needed the rest after your exams." Reigen greeted his coworker before continuing to type. He honestly didn't have much happening in the way of work right now, having finished a pile of files earlier, but didn't want to appear lazy in front of an employee. Serizawa smiled and set down his bag.

"Should I make some tea?" he asked, nodding towards the absence of the teapot on a nearby table.

"Why not? Today's sort of a work at your own pace kind of thing so you got the time." Reigen said. After a few more seconds of vaguely involved key tapping he looked up to see Serizawa staring at him. "What is it?"

Instead of answering Serizawa leaned in closer. "There's something on your head." He reached out and when he took his hand away Reigen felt a chill down his spine. Faint antennae and a transparent shell made it obvious just what had made its home in his hair for who knows how long.

"Oh." he said weakly. It was all he could manage before everything went dark.

The next thing Reigen knew he was slowly blinking himself awake. Surprisingly he wasn't sore anywhere so he must have never made contact with the floor. Then he remembered Serizawa was there and it made more sense. Of course the esper would catch him. Said esper was also leaning over him with a worried expression.

"Reigen? Can you hear me?" asked Serizawa. A small groan from Reigen was his answer. Bump on the head or not fainting was never a pleasant experience. The indication of life, however, was enough to let Serizawa relax slightly. "Thank god. I was so scared."

"S'not like I was dying." Reigen remarked as he propped himself up on what he now realized was the office couch.

"I know but you just collapsed without any warning and I didn't know why and I barely caught you in time and you weren't waking up and I didn't know what to do…." Serizawa rambled. Reigen suppressed a sigh and gave the man what he hoped was a reassuring look. Even after months of vast improvement in his social skills Serizawa still had the nervous habit of talking without end. In fairness to him Reigen tended to do the same.

"Don't worry about it now, alright?" Reigen said. "I just… don't like cockroaches."

"I put the spirit outside, if you were still worried about it. It wasn't hurting anyone…" Serizawa continued.

"Except me." Reigen thought. He sat up properly and grinned. "Excellent work, Serizawa. Now, let's get back to work. That tea?"

"Yes sir! Right away." Serizawa said as he snapped into action. Reigen watched him head towards the kettle and allowed himself a moment of relief. The bug was gone and things were back to normal.

If someone had walked into the Spirits and such consultation office that day they would have had no idea that their potential hero had recently passed out cold at the thought of a ghostly insect. Reigen planned to keep it that way. Only he and Serizawa would know about the incident and the conman thanked every deity he could imagine that his employee wasn't much of a gossip.

( Although a few former Claw members would be able to prove him wrong on that front. )


End file.
